The present invention relates to medical and surgical instruments, and in particular to disposable covers for laryngoscope blades, and the like.
When anesthetized, the human body tends to function somewhat irregularly. For instance, the air passageway may close up, and stomach acid may enter the lungs. To avoid this situation, and protect the lungs from stomach acid, an endotracheal tube is normally inserted into the patient's air passageway with the aid of a device which is typically used to examine the larynx, namely a laryngoscope. A conventional laryngoscope comprises a cylindrically shaped handle or housing with a detachable, elongate blade. The blade is usually hingedly attached to the laryngoscope housing at a contact point, and has either a C-shaped or L-shaped lateral cross-sectional shape, with inside and outside surfaces. The outside surface is shaped to conform to the interior surfaces of the patient's throat, and to facilitate lifting the patient's tongue, upon insertion of the blade into the patient's mouth and throat. The inside surface of the blade defines a space, which includes a guide surface, through which the physician can sight down into the patient's throat. The blade has a light located adjacent its outer end to assist in viewing the larynx, and a rounded tip to help move the epiglottis to facilitate the insertion of an endotracheal tube, without undue trauma to the patient's throat.
In the past, not much concern has been given to sterilizing blades of laryngoscopes, including the blade portion of the laryngoscope which is inserted into the throat of the patient. Considering the significant number of patients that an anesthesiologist might serve each day, possibly 40 per day, the lack of sterilization of the laryngoscope blades might possibly lead to cross-contamination among patients, at least under some circumstances. This situation, coupled with the present fear of contracting serious diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis, herpes, etc. during surgery, has given rise to a demand for the use of sterile equipment whenever possible. Frequent sterilization of the laryngoscope blade is not feasible, since to do so would be time-consuming and very inconvenient. While there are methods for manually sterilizing laryngoscope blades, such methods tend to be time-consuming in application and burdensome for the practitioner who typically does not have time to wait. Quick sterilization of laryngoscope blades through conventional methods such as autoclaving is out of the question, since the standard laryngoscope blade includes a delicate, light assembly mounted on the blade itself. The use of a resterilizable blade cover would still pose a hardship to the anesthesiologist or anesthetist in light of the many covers that would have to be sterilized each day, and the possibility of incomplete sterilization. Accordingly, there is a demand in the medical field for a cover that is completely sterile, and can be used on all different types of commonly-used laryngoscope blades with varying shapes, and can be disposed of after a single use.